Stagecoach in Birmingham

[metrocity]

Last Saturday, I observed a 169 passing through Billesley which showed "Sainsburys" and "via Solihull Town Centre" on the lower line. Which I thought was a bit unhelpful, which Sainsburys? (there are stores also in Kings Heath and Maypole!)

Yesterday, the one I spotted on Westridge Road did actually show 'Shirley Sainsburys'.

On both occasions, the buses were empty!

Same with a lot of the other BSIP funded services which seem to be carrying fresh air now but did have reasonable usage in their previous guises prior to the route changes 

[Sandy Lane]

Same with a lot of the other BSIP funded services which seem to be carrying fresh air now but did have reasonable usage in their previous guises prior to the route changes

Times are very hard for lots of people.
Ticket interchangeability could be putting people off? Journeys may be costing more money if you need to use both operators?
Maybe NXWM £4 daysaver would have been better value when they ran all the routes?
Did TfWM consider this for both Birmingham and Coventry (the 60 taking over some of the 3 route)?

[Stu]

Times are very hard for lots of people.
Ticket interchangeability could be putting people off? Journeys may be costing more money if you need to use both operators?
Maybe NXWM £4 daysaver would have been better value when they ran all the routes?
Did TfWM consider this for both Birmingham and Coventry (the 60 taking over some of the 3 route)?

It's possible, but an nBus day ticket costs £4.20, so only 20p more than an NX Daysaver.

Where TfWM have shot themselves in the foot is their failure to actively promote their Swift Go product more.

[BrumKev86]

The local councillor for the Lyndon Ward of Solihull Council contacted TFWM last week about the A9 service and this was TFWM response:

A9 Bus Service

I finally got a reply from TfWM (Transport for West Midlands), regarding the reliability issues. I am still outstanding a response with regards to the S16 changes.

"I am sorry to hear of residents concerns about this route and apologise for the inconvenience.
We are aware of the performance of the A9 service last week, which has not met the high standards that customers rightly expect.  TfWM are closely monitoring the situation daily and are actively working with Stagecoach to stabilise this service to ensure that residents can rely upon the service provided.
Unfortunately, the issues experienced are related to driver availability which is a problem to varying degrees across much of the bus industry.  Additional drivers are being recruited and we are expecting to see a significant improvement going forward.

[metrocity]

It's possible, but an nBus day ticket costs £4.20, so only 20p more than an NX Daysaver.

Where TfWM have shot themselves in the foot is their failure to actively promote their Swift Go product more.

Swift Go would have been innovative 15 years ago. Customers expect capping on contactless bank card across all operators, instead ironically customers can easily get over charged rather than getting best value if using more than one operator. Sadly this desired milestone is now incredibly difficult to achieve due to TfWM allowing operators to procure different types of ticket machines!

[Stu]

Swift Go would have been innovative 15 years ago. Customers expect capping on contactless bank card across all operators, instead ironically customers can easily get over charged rather than getting best value if using more than one operator. Sadly this desired milestone is now incredibly difficult to achieve due to TfWM allowing operators to procure different types of ticket machines!

I agree, this system is a bit 'outdated' compared to Oyster in London.

But still, TfWM have spent a fair bit developing it, and launching it in 2020 before 'capping' was introduced in 2021.

Despite the initial promotion, there was not much said about it since then.

And you're right, the current situation has come about as TfWM allowed operators to use different on-bus ticketing systems.

But I still think that money would be better spent on promoting Swift Go, rather than the millions set to be spent on developing a whole new system for bank cards, which then ultimately makes Swift Go a complete waste of taxpayers money.

 https://wmbu.org.uk/2023/01/opinion-risk-of-passengers-being-overcharged-when-using-contactless-but-theres-already-a-solution/

[Secondary trigger 28]

#Birmingham#Solihull Unfortunately due to a mechanical issue, the  service is running late and the following will not run today.
#A9 - 07.26 Kinghurst - Blythe Valley
Apologies for any inconvenience caused

5 minutes before the bus was due they tell me its not running

[the trainbasher]

The local councillor for the Lyndon Ward of Solihull Council contacted TFWM last week about the A9 service and this was TFWM response:

That's a quicker response than what one of the Brierley Hill cllrs got about the 25 service!

[Secondary trigger 28]

Quite a few of stagecoch services not running for some reason because of a mechanical issue 

[Danthebusman]

Quite a few of stagecoch services not running for some reason because of a mechanical issue 

When it's not the drivers letting them down, it's their own buses!

[GoldenSquid]

Last Saturday, I observed a 169 passing through Billesley which showed "Sainsburys" and "via Solihull Town Centre" on the lower line. Which I thought was a bit unhelpful, which Sainsburys? (there are stores also in Kings Heath and Maypole!)

Yesterday, the one I spotted on Westridge Road did actually show 'Shirley Sainsburys'.

On both occasions, the buses were empty!

I've noticed a lot of 169s being empty, especially in the evening. I am not sure why the service runs to 6PM, when the 69 used to finish around 2PM.

I think a lot of customers are being put off these new routes as the bus stops have still not been updated. I noticed that the stops near Lea Hall/Kits Green LIDL, have had the timetables updated for the 72/97 and had the 58 removed but they didn't add the A9 onto it.

[metrocity]

I've noticed a lot of 169s being empty, especially in the evening. I am not sure why the service runs to 6PM, when the 69 used to finish around 2PM.

I think a lot of customers are being put off these new routes as the bus stops have still not been updated. I noticed that the stops near Lea Hall/Kits Green LIDL, have had the timetables updated for the 72/97 and had the 58 removed but they didn't add the A9 onto it.

The later journeys have been introduced because TFWM have used the BSIP funds for this tender. Therefore there has to be an improvement of some sort on the previous contract. Same reason why A9, 142, 96 etc have all seen enhanced operating hours and / or days 

[Sandy Lane]

Hope it stays this way with some good news from SC Twit feed -


all birmingham services as of now are all running, enjoy your day

[Tony]

Hope it stays this way with some good news from SC Twit feed -


all birmingham services as of now are all running, enjoy your day

They must have two buses that don't track on the A9. I know one has ben reported a couple of time, must be a second that doesn't as well

[Stu]

They must have two buses that don't track on the A9. I know one has ben reported a couple of time, must be a second that doesn't as well

36484 is recorded as operating journeys but isn't providing location data:
https://bustimes.org/services/a9-kinghurst-blyth-valley-park/vehicles